Telematics systems typically combine telecommunications and information processing, and frequently involve automobile systems that combine global positioning system (GPS) satellite tracking and wireless communications for automatic roadside assistance and remote diagnostics. Some vehicle telematics systems monitor for diagnostic trouble codes in the vehicle that are formed from sensory inputs from various electronic modules in the vehicle.
Telematics systems promise to combine vehicle safety, entertainment and convenience features through wireless access to distributed networks, such as the Internet. Such systems are distinguishable from hardware-centric audio and vehicle control systems that are built into devices custom designed for each vehicle. By contrast, vehicle telematics systems may include infotainment delivered by plug-and-play hardware whose functionality can be upgraded through software loads or simple module replacement. It is anticipated that significant new revenue streams will be opened up to automobile manufacturers and service providers through the products and services made available through telematics systems.
In the field of vehicle telematics, technologies have been devised that contribute to expanding the use of commercial and personal vehicles from merely a form of transportation to acting as communication hubs. According to these technologies, a vehicle is able to communicate wirelessly with remote systems in order to serve or facilitate a number of objectives including related to safety, navigation, information gathering, entertainment and education. Communications with the vehicle typically involve a cellular phone or other communication device that is able to send and receive communications from outside the vehicle.
Beginning with model year 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires vehicle manufacturers to install on-board diagnostics (OBD-II) for monitoring light-duty automobiles and trucks. OBD-II systems include microcontrollers and sensors that monitor the vehicle's electrical and mechanical systems and generate data that are processed by a vehicle's engine control unit (ECU) to detect any malfunction or deterioration in the vehicle's performance. Most ECUs transmit status and diagnostic information over a shared, standardized electronic bus in the vehicle, which effectively functions as an on-board computer network with many processors that transmit and receive data. The primary computers in this network are the vehicle's electronic-control module (ECM) for monitoring engine functions and power-control module (PCM) for monitoring the vehicle's power train. Data available from the ECM and PCM include vehicle speed, fuel level, engine temperature, and intake manifold pressure.
Data from the above-mentioned systems are made available through a standardized, serial 16-cavity OBD-II connector, which usually is disposed underneath the vehicle's dashboard. When the vehicle is serviced, data from the vehicle's ECM and/or PCM is typically queried using an external engine-diagnostic tool that plugs into the OBD-II connector. The vehicle's engine is turned on and data is transferred from the engine computer, through the OBD-II connector, and to the external engine-diagnostic tool. The data is then displayed and analyzed to service the vehicle. Some vehicle manufacturers also include complex electronic systems in their vehicles to access and analyze some of the above-described data. By way of example, General Motors includes in some vehicles a system called “On-Star”, which collects and transmits data through a wireless network. On-Star systems are not connected through the OBD-II connector, but instead are wired directly to the vehicle's electronic system when the vehicle is manufactured.